Честита Баба Марта!
Springtime! Shoutouts! Dubstep!
Today is the Bulgarian holiday celebrating spring.1 If we woke in Bulgaria, when we met we would greet each other with, “Chestit Baba Marta,” and after we exchanged quick cheek kisses, I would give you a red and white string bracelet. You would wear it (for a day to a couple weeks), until you saw the first bud on a tree marking spring’s arrival and then you would tie the bracelet onto that tree.
Sadly, I no longer live in Bulgaria and gave away all my martenitzi years ago, so tonight I will celebrate with a small glass of rakia.2
In music news, I recently introduced my children to the two Skrillex songs I know. They call it “crazy robot music.” When the girl screams, they crack up laughing and roll on the ground. I remember when I heard Scary Sprites and Nice Monsters in graduate school (back in 2010) and felt old for the first time. I was finally able to understand my father’s rage and confusion during my high school years when he came home unexpected for lunch and threw my Nevermind cassette down the hall (accidentally shattering the plastic against the wall and leaving me to collect the strung out tape). He replaced my Nirvana with his Herman’s Hermits and we ate our sandwiches without talking.
And now? This music once so shocking? They’re all novelty songs now, aren’t they?
For Lent, I usually give up music. (I don’t wear ear plugs or run out of concert halls humming, fingers in my ears - I just refrain from pressing play). It’s very hard for me to go the entire 40 days until Easter in the relative silence.3 But not this year. This year, I’m still jamming. No, this year for Lent4, I gave up Twitter. As a result, already I’m paying more attention to my kids and my time sitting on the toilet is significantly shorter.
Shout-Outs! Shouts-Outs! Shout-Outs!
My frequent beta reader and incredible editor, Maegan Heil at
, has a live reading up on Chuck Palahniuk’s Substack. Listen and laugh and squirm and vote for her by clicking the little heart; she’s competitive in Palahniuk’s contest for best live reading:
And speaking of Twitter, one of my good friends from college and an occasional beta reader of my short fiction recently released a new song about Elon Musk. You can find him on Spotify, iTunes, or your favorite music subscription service. My daughter says it is 100. (Which she then clarifies to me means she likes it 100 percent, which is as much as she could like any song).
The Great Substack Story Challenge - II continues!
Brian Reindel at
expanded the universe of the story with Chapter 6:
While Meg Oolders at
wrote this week’s heartbreaking chapter:
Three more chapters to go! Each chapter links to all the others, or you can click here.
Next week I’ll continue with the second installment of my Walt Darling: A Brief History of Kissing series.
Think Groundhog’s Day, but not.
Think fruit brandy, but more burn.
This quote is somewhat responsible: “All the wars in the history of the world are the result of man’s inability to sit alone in a room with his thoughts.” - Blaise Pascal
If you celebrate Lent by fasting somehow, tell me what you gave up in the comments!
Hey, Thank You for the shoutout, Wil! And Thank You to anyone who watches the video!!
Your wife will appreciate the shorter toilet time. Oh yes, we notice...
Me? I don't celebrate Lent, but if I did, I'd probably be forced to give up my favorite dinners--ahem--I mean SNACKS--of Ruffles and French Onion Dip, Gushers, Gardettos, Nutty Bars, and Beef Jerky.
My first kiss was Nate Pelkey. Memorial Weekend, 8th Grade. And he'll always have a special place in my heart. ♥♥♥
"my time sitting on the toilet is significantly shorter..." 😂 We're kindred spirits.